VERDICT NOT EXPECTED TO HALT POLICE CHASES

Police and legal experts say a jury's verdict to acquit a New Haven man of the most serious charges in the death of a Middletown police sergeant won't stop officers from chasing fleeing criminals.

That reaction came in the wake of a jury's unanimous decision Tuesday to acquit Bryant Browne of felony murder, first-degree manslaughter and five other charges in the death of Sgt. George R. Dingwall, whose cruiser spun off Route 9 in Essex and crashed into trees two years ago.

"Police are in the business of chasing criminals. In the long term, they're not going to stop doing it just because of this incident," said Todd Fernow, a criminal law professor at the University of Connecticut Law School. "In the heat of the moment, if police believe they're justified in doing it, they're not going to stop just because another officer died" in the Middletown case.

Sgt. J. Paul Vance, a spokesman for the state police, said the jury's verdict does not provide a reason to change the criteria for chasing fleeing drivers.

"No, there's a statewide policy," Vance said Wednesday. "It's been carefully scrutinized. The safety of everyone, including the pursued, is taken into consideration."

Based on the circumstances, police supervisors can call off a chase if it is deemed too dangerous. The Middletown policy states that officers should chase only suspects who are believed to have been involved in major felonies, such as murder or armed robbery. Browne's attorney, Norman Pattis, said repeatedly that Dingwall violated the department's policy because there was no evidence, at the time the chase began, that Browne had been involved in a serious crime.

On the seventh day of jury deliberations, Browne was convicted Tuesday of misconduct with a motor vehicle and 10 other criminal charges related to a 46-mile chase that ended in Branford after state police punctured the tires on Browne's 1988 Buick Regal. Browne, 38, faces a maximum of 42 years in prison when he is sentenced in March.

As one of the most highly publicized deaths in recent years in Middlesex County, the case has been closely watched by officers statewide. Lessons about the dangers of chases were learned when the crash occurred two years ago, said William Dunlap, a criminal law professor at Quinnipiac University in Hamden.

"It's the accident, not the jury verdict, that will affect police behavior," Dunlap said. "I don't think the jury verdict will have any effect on [chases] at all. This is a reminder that whenever they engage in a chase that there is a chance of death."

Officer William J. Clayton, vice president of the Middletown police union, agreed that officers will continue to chase criminals when necessary. As they conduct their duties, he said, the Middletown officers are still mourning their colleague.